I Told You So

by Jeff Costello, December 7, 2016

"Everybody knows the war is over, everybody knows the good guys lost." — Leonard Cohen

"Our lifelong cynicism about the American character has been vindicated. I Told You So has never felt worse. On the bright side, heads will get busted, streets will be full of youthfully optimistic protesters and the Dems won't have four years to co-opt progressives. And in the wings, Mike Pence, the Manchurian candidate. Keep your powder dry." — Michael Townsend

Well, my old friend Townsend knows I appreciate metaphors and don't keep guns, but I remember that in the movie, the Manchurian candidate was shot by one of his brainwashed subjects. You never know. I'm glad to see he's not buying into the facebook mania about "evil" billionaire George Soros funding the nationwide protests over Trump's election. The logistics are unrealistic for a start.

Also noteworthy is the distinction between Dems and "progressives." HRC called herself a progressive and I wanted to vomit. Language has become badly perverted in the social media age. I've started to think that mainstream liberals in the disappearing middle class may be thinking, "I followed all the rules, so why aren't I happy and satisfied?"

Since what's wrong with Trump apparently isn't obvious to everyone, maybe as a country we deserve what we get. Does that include militarized, sadistic police and the goings-on at Standing Rock, hyper-conservatives and nazi salutes? "Divisive" isn't a strong enough term for this. Seems to me humans have seriously divided already, over the past 50 years or so, evolved in the 60s into some longhairs driving VWs with peace signs, and angry, crew-cutted pro-war types cursing them as "peace creeps." I always wondered, who are really the creeps? What makes these people love war if they're not invested in the big weapons industries? Does it make them happy and satisfied? Do they buy into the brave war hero fighting for our freedom myth? MSNBC rails against fake news on what, CNN? Facebook? Wonderful bit of irony there.

Is all this about money, or ego? Does Trump's outrageous self-aggrandizement appeal to his fans? Do they wish they had the guts to be like him? Does it rub off?